Downtown crowds: Squeezing out desired traffic?

Overhead shot during a recent Festival of Arts Boca performance at the Mizner…

February 24, 2013|By Anne Geggis, Sun Sentinel

Shopping and crowds usually go together — but not in downtown Boca Raton, where the managers of Mizner Park say city events are crowding out their customers.

In a letter from its lawyer, the owners of Mizner Park are demanding the city grant veto rights over what sort of acts and festivals the city brings to the Mizner Park's amphitheater. They say that some of the recent line-ups have drawn crowds that put Mizner Park mall at risk of being sued by its tenants.

Mizner Park "has been inundated with complaints by occupants, particularly the restaurants, because of lost business due to incompatible uses at the civic site, inability to use access roads and non-compliant parking during events," wrote Kathleen Dempsy Boyle, a Chicago lawyer who works for the owner of Mizner Park.

The city is not about to give them veto power, however, Boyle was informed. Nor are they going to move the concerts to weekdays, as the mall has suggested. But the letter has ignited talk among City Council members about building a new parking garage — somehow.

Bringing people downtown was the point of the city's decision to shell out about $888,000 to assume ownership of the amphitheater in August 2010 when its former owner, Centre for the Arts, could no longer maintain it. And it's been a successful venture, city officials say.

There were 71 events at the amphitheater last year that brought more than 100,000 people downtown, said Mike Woika, assistant city manager.

"The number of people who have been coming [downtown] is significantly larger than before the city took over operations," he said.

Nevertheless, Jay Greenstein, manager at the men's clothing store Plattinni, said that the set-up urgently needs refining. Sometimes he tells the clients to stay away because of the parking and the traffic.

"They need to get a different clientele — kids don't spend money here," he said. "It's a big thing they need to figure out."

Mayor Susan Whelchel said she thinks the answer lies in constructing another parking garage near downtown.

"We need to start thinking about it, talking about it," she said.

It's already creating serious problems, for some businesses, according to some.

John Mazza, who manages Max's Grille, said he's seen downtown's ebb and flow for 14 years from his position. When there's an event, he said he parks at friend's downtown home. He said he gets calls from his employees who are going to be late for work because they are combing the streets, looking for a spot to park.

He said he started working here when downtown Boca was booming. But then he saw it bust.

"It was a ghost town," he said.

Recent signs of life include Lord & Taylor's arrival scheduled for this fall, a new jazz club and other restaurants. Adding all this new stuff without adding any parking is creating a problem, he said.

"The traffic deters our customers," he said.

City officials say a new parking garage downtown is a long way down the road.

Bea Lewis, a Boynton Beach resident who was downtown for a recent weekday lunch, said she doesn't come anywhere near the area when there's a festival on.

"It's nasty" she said of the parking situation.

Mary Lou Smith, manager of the The Spice & Tea Exchange, said she's glad for the exposure, but "truthfully, people who come for the concerts, come for the concerts."

Mizner Park's lawyer complained that the Jan. 19 Boca Blues Fest brought about, "protests and serious parking and secureity issues." But city officials said they could find no basis for her complaint.